Woods Council Approves Another Union Contract

The city council approved an agreement Monday reached between city administration and employees in the Police Officers Labor Council union, which represents fire specialists, dispatchers and paramedics. 

The agreement was reached Jan. 4 and ratified Monday by council in a unanimous vote. The three-year contract, which is retroactive to June 2010 and continues through July 2013, is similar to what , Mayor Robert Novitke said. 

Councilman Art Bryant said the new contract saves the city about $20,000. There are about seven employees in the POLC union, he said, explaining they agreed to contribute more to their own health care. 

They also reached an agreement regarding the city's furlough days instituted last year as a cost-saving measure in which most of the municipal employees have longer weekends following or leading up to holidays with an unpaid day off. 

Bryant said employees in the POLC union cannot use furlough days because they are in the public safety department, which operates 24 hours a day regardless of holidays. 

There are still two additional unions with whom the city administration must reach contracts, Novitke said, including the union representing the public safety officers and the union representing command officers. 

Employees from both of those unions are still operating on their former contract, which also expired in June 2010, Bryant said.